The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has granted Small Business Lending Company (SBLC) licenses to four lending institutions: Cooperative Business Services, A10 Capital, Lafayette Square and Stonehenge Capital. This broadens the availability of 7(a) loans in low-income and other underserved communities nationwide from their locations in Ohio, Idaho, Washington, D.C. and Louisiana, respectively.
“For the second time in over 40 years, the Biden-Harris SBA welcomes new lenders with a shared mission of filling capital gaps in underserved communities – the very same communities who are starting businesses at the highest rates in America today,” Administrator Guzman said. “With private markets playing an increasingly important role in small business lending, this expansion delivers against the Biden-Harris Administration’s unwavering commitment to providing affordable financing to the incredible entrepreneurs and new business starts revitalizing Main Streets across America. Congratulations to the four new licensees as they work alongside the mission-focused teams at the SBA to put the American dream of business ownership within reach for more entrepreneurs.”
The SBA approves SBLC licenses for selected non-depository lenders to increase responsible small business lending. An SBLC license allows the lending organization to access the SBA’s 7(a) government guarantee program when underwriting small business loans to reduce the level of risk to the lender and cost to the borrower. As a result, SBLCs are positioned to underwrite higher volumes of loans to eligible small businesses than possible without a government guaranty.
“Cooperative Business Services, LLC, is honored to receive an SBA SBLC license, a pivotal milestone that reinforces our commitment to serving communities through our innovative credit union consortium. By partnering with local credit unions, we can expand access to vital capital for underserved markets, empowering entrepreneurs to start, operate, and grow businesses that drive economic growth and strengthen the fabric of our communities,” Keith Reed, president and CEO of Cooperative Business Services, said. “This achievement underscores our dedication to fostering collaboration and supporting the credit unions that make our mission possible.”
“A10 Capital is truly honored to receive a new SBLC license from the SBA. We look forward to applying our decades of knowledge, expertise and experience to provide lending solutions to small businesses nationwide that are unable to access constructive forms of credit elsewhere,” Anuj Gupta, CEO of A10 Capital, said. “Small businesses are the backbone of the U.S. economy and we are eager to quickly launch operations and commence providing capital to small businesses across a wide range of sectors, industry groups and geographies.”
“Lafayette Square USA, Inc., appreciates receiving this new SBLC license that will allow our private credit platform to expand into 7(a) lending,” Damien Dwin, president and CEO of Lafayette Square USA, said. “As a business development company with two SBIC licenses, we are committed to partnering with SBA in pursuit of our Goal 2030 to support 100,000 working-class jobs, invest 50% of our capital in working-class places including rural areas and see 50% adoption of managerial assistance across our portfolio. Our business model relies upon marrying capital, services, and technology for American small businesses, making this SBLC license incredibly valuable in driving our performance. We look forward to supporting entrepreneurs in working-class places across the country.”
“For over 25 years, Stonehenge Capital has supported small businesses in underserved communities across the country,” L’Quentus Thomas, senior managing director of Stonehenge Capital, said. “With our impact focus, we have helped entrepreneurs and small business owners grow their businesses by accessing capital that can be difficult to obtain in many areas. The SBLC license will give us a new tool to provide SBA 7(a) capital to small businesses with a particular focus on low-moderate income and rural areas in the U.S. We are honored that the SBA chose Stonehenge, and we look forward to playing a part in growing strong businesses and new jobs in underserved communities.”
With this second expansion of four new SBLC licenses, SBA now has expanded the network from 14 SBLCs to 20 SBLCs.
